Quality cosmetics, such as lipsticks, are sold in quality containers. From a consumer's view, a high quality lipstick container has a certain "feel" to it, i.e., rotating freely due to its relatively low swivel torque but having enough resistance or torque to feel sturdy. It is within this range of preferred torque which cosmetic companies strive to achieve when crafting cosmetic containers.
Conventional lipstick containers include a cosmetic carrier, a tubular inner sleeve, a tubular outer sleeve and a decorative sleeve. The cosmetic carrier supports the lipstick and is generally configured as a sleeve having radially extending lugs on opposing sides and is received within the inner sleeve. The inner sleeve defines longitudinally extending channels on opposing sides wherein the lugs of the cosmetic carrier extend therethrough. An outer sleeve defining a continuous helical channel is positioned about the inner sleeve wherein the lugs of the cosmetic carrier are configured to be received and to traverse along the length of the helical channel. This results in the cosmetic carrier being moved upwardly as the lugs traverse the length of the helical channel when a bottom portion of the inner sleeve is rotated. The decorative outermost sleeve is provided for aesthetic purposes. In operation, a bottom portion of the inner sleeve extends beyond the bottom of the outer decorative sleeve. The user rotates the bottom portion to cause the cosmetic carrier and, hence, the lipstick to extend from the case for applying the lipstick and to retract into the case for storage.
If one of the above-mentioned conventional components of the lipstick container is eliminated, while still providing a functional container, economies are achieved. For instance, economies in manufacturing would result with one less component to be assembled. This, in turn, would reduce the customer's end cost.
Several cosmetic containers provide the requisite torque but do so in a manner which requires exact tolerance, are relatively expensive to manufacture, and experience wear over extended use thereby adversely effecting torque produced between the relatively rotating sleeves. Further, many have features directed to achieving the desired amount of torque, but none achieve the desired torque consistently or while eliminating one of the conventional components.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,953,910 to Parkin (hereinafter the '910 patent) is directed to a lipstick container including an outer sleeve defining a spiral slot and an inner sleeve defining a longitudinally extending slot. A cosmetic carrier is positioned within the inner sleeve and includes a pin which extends through the axial slot and into the spiral slot as is conventional. Positioned beneath the cosmetic carrier is a coil spring which bears against the bottom of the cosmetic carrier for providing tension so as to facilitate the projection of the inner sleeve. The '910 patent indicates that the spring merely "bears" against the cosmetic carrier and is not secured thereto to prevent rotation of the spring relative to the tubular sleeves of the container. Thus, an inner sleeve is required to restrict rotational movement of the cosmetic carrier relative to the outer sleeve.